Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-Jan.6

Relation Between Nama and the Form

Is it necessary to meditate on the form while practising nama? As a matter of fact, the two are inseparable. Nama existed before the form, and it outlasts the form. Nama, indeed, pervades the form. Nama transcends the limits of time and space; consequently, it is the truth, the ultimate reality. So, to chant nama repeatedly, unceasingly, is the main thing. If the form is concurrently visualized, well and good. But even otherwise, the form does figure in the meditation on nama, though remotely, subtly. Suppose a man is repeating 'Rama, Rama' in his meditation, while as often happens, his mind is distracted by some other thoughts. If unexpectedly we ask him whose nama he is chanting, he will say, "That of Rama;" if pressed further, "which Rama -- your servant named Rama?", he will retort, "of course, Rama the son of Dasharatha!" This proves that while chanting nama there is a definite though subconscious awareness of the form. Therefore, go ahead with the chanting of nama, whether or not the form is also visualized simultaneously; for, nama' includes the form, too.
When we think of a person whom we already know, the form comes to the mind first, and then his name; when we are not acquainted with a person, it is his name that comes to the mind first, and the form follows. Being unacquainted with God as yet, we are unfamiliar with His form; but surely we can chant His nama. It is our experience even now that as we chant His nama we do have Him in mind. Besides His form is far from definite. In the temples we may see a black-stone image in one, a marble one in another; one icon may be small, another large; and yet, they are all Rama. As a matter of fact, the Supreme Being is a formless entity; and therefore, for any particular person, it is of the form he imagines. Therefore we may meditate on Him as having any form that we fancy. The nama gives rise to forms that are really numberless, and they all stand for the same, single Lord. Therefore, nama is supreme. I exhort you to ponder on and chant this nama with a feeling of love, and you shall ever be in supreme bliss.



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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-Jan..6

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-Jan.6

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-Jan.5

Concentration in Nama-smarana

Why are we unable to achieve concentration in nama-smarana although we earnestly desire and strive for it? What should we do to achieve this concentration? It is true that hordes of vagrant, irrelevant thoughts throng and distract the mind during meditation. The simple remedy is, not to pursue or multiply them, not to indulge in day-dreams. Thoughts will go away as they come, if we ignore them. Indeed, nama-smarana will itself lead to concentration. Real concentration will come only at an advanced stage. The mind is, by its very nature, fickle, restless, fugitive. It can be steadied only by tethering it to something; so we should keep it engaged in nama. Practising listening to nama mentally, as we chant it, will greatly help achieve concentration. Persistence in repeating nama will ultimately lead to concentration of the mind.
Everyone knows that the mind readily concentrates on what it likes or is interested in. We have an inborn affinity for worldly matters and sensual pleasures, and so get easily absorbed in them. If, then, we cultivate affection for God, why should we not be able to get engrossed in Him and His nama? So let us cultivate a keen longing for God and nama.
Real concentration requires complete fusion or merger of identity, like that of salt in water. Yoga may train you in concentration, which, however, will last only so long as the state of samadhi lasts. Real, lasting concentration is to be fully and incessantly aware of the divinity pervading all things. When we realize that all is God and nothing else, where is the scope for duality to exist? And the moment duality vanishes, oneness or concentration alone remains: this is true samadhi.
Even if a person is lonely, he creates a whole world in his mind and peoples it with a host of persons and things, with the help of his imagination. The learned especially possess a prolific imagination. If the mind must, after all, imagine something, let us think of God in His various qualities as a benefactor, as the protector of everybody and everything, and as the bestower of peace and bliss. God, Who transcends and defies intellectual comprehension, should be imagined as saguna, with a certain form and name, and we should endavour to concentrate our mind on these to the exclusion of all else.
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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-Jan.5

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-Jan.5

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-Jan.4

The Proper Posture for Repeating Nama

Just as a sweet tastes sweet whichever side you begin to eat, nama achieves its purpose whichever way or in whatever position you take it. One who has tasted a sweet will not ask from which side he should begin; similarly, one who chants nama will not ask 'how' he should do it. The sower sows the field without bothering which side of the seed faces up, for the sprout always instinctively manages to make its way up. Similarly, whatever the way or manner in which the sadhaka may begin' chanting' it, nama will ensure his progress in the proper direction. The main thing, therefore, is to begin.
To ask which posture we should adopt for nama-sadhana, is like asking what posture we should adopt for breathing. The answer is, whatever posture facilitates free, unhindered breathing. What does a person suffering from asthma do? He tries to sit up or recline in a position which affords him easy breathing. He aims at ease in breathing, and he adopts any posture that provides it. Similarly, we should aim at unbroken and undisturbed chanting of nama, and adopt any posture which avoids hindrance and offers convenience therein. Do not attach overimportance to posture. Imagine that we adopt the Padmasan posture for nama-smarana, and after a while we start feeling strain in the back; our attention will, in that case, be directed more towards the body than to nama; in other words, instead of losing our attention to our body (which we aim at), we shall be doubly reminded of the body. The object, therefore, should be to avoid break or distraction in nama-smarana; and we may adopt any posture of the body conducive to meditation on nama, according to personal idiosyncracies or requirements. Nama is totally independent of the state or posture of the body; indeed, this is the peculiar feature of nama-smarana.
However, our sense of identity of our I self' with the body is so strong and undissociable that we cannot be content unless we attach some strings or limitations or conditions to nama, although it is itself absolutely unconstrained by upadhi. This is precisely what we should not do. Such conditions, if fulfilled, will lead to joy or woe, but conditionless nama will lead to limitless and pure bliss.
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